SAN FRANCISCO - Actor John Dye, whose career included the role of Andrew, the angel of death, in the long-running television series "Touched by an Angel," was found dead at his San Francisco home on 10 January 2011, San Francisco, California, USA.

Medical examiner's investigator Charles Cecil said the 47-year-old Dye, a native of Amory, Mississippi, was found dead Monday.

The cause of death has not been determined, Cecil said, but relatives said Dye suffered apparent heart failure.

WREG-TV in Memphis reported that Dye's father, Jim Dye, said his actor son "was very giving, had a lot of causes that he supported real well, Make a Wish Foundation, AIDS research."

As news of Dye's death began to spread Thursday afternoon, his "Touched by an Angel" co-star Valerie Bertinelli posted a message to him on her Twitter account: "Dear, sweet John Dye, rest in peace."

A University of Memphis theatre major, Dye's early work included the martial-arts movie "The Best of the Best" and small roles on "Murder, She Wrote" and other television shows. He landed the part of the Angel of Death on "Touched by an Angel" in 1994 and appeared in all nine seasons of the CBS series.

A spokeswoman for E.E. Pickle Funeral Home in Amory said funeral arrangements were incomplete.